"Dahahahaha~! There he goes!" laughs Run, watching Luffy disappear into the distance along with the slowly retreating Noah. "Well, I guess if he's going to take care of Hody and Decken, then we should clean things up here before he gets back. He slowly turns to look at the surrounding pirates. He's barely turned his attention back to the pirates before Wadatsumi breaks down into tears. He wails and laments being left behind as a 'sacrifice' by his own Captain. Seeing an opporunity, however, one of Hordy's commanders decides to 'console' Wadatsumi and attempt to convince him to fight the Kraken for their sake. They even give him some kind of strange pill.
"Beat him up, Kraken!" cries Usopp.
"Yeah, you're so strong!" agrees Chopper. Wadatsumi swallows the pill, either by accident, or surprise as it's thrown into his mouth...and seems to fly into a rage immediately. The giant Sea Bonze goes sprinting right at the Kraken without a second thought. The Kraken raises it's tentacles in preparation, and throws a trio of punches at the Sea Bonze. Rather than deliver another beating, Wadatsumi bashes right through and lands a clean hit on the Kraken's 'chin', so to speak. It recoils from the impact, and eventually falls flat on it's face unmoving.
"Captain Decken!" exclaims Wadatsumi. "I'm sorry that I didn't trust you!" The Sea Bonze quickly scans the area, looking at all the people around him. "Where are they?! Who else is my enemy?!" The New Fishmen pirates are quick to sell out Jinbei as an enemy of his Captain.
"Oi! Jinbei! Look out!" screams Nami. Jinbei glances over his shoulder at the massive Sea Bonze approaching him before turning away once again. The massive Sea Bonze raises one of it's fists in a rage and launches it at the back of the Fishman.
"Seven-thousand Brick...Roundhouse Kick!" shouts Jinbei, turning and planting his foot into the massive fist. Both meet and Wadatsumi's fist comes to a sudden stop. Several tense seconds pass before the massive Sea Bonze suddenly starts back pedaling away from him, holding his fist and crying out in pain. He falls flat on his back moments later, sending a number of Fishmen tumbling away from the resulting impact. While this is going on, several of the New Fishmen Pirates have surrounded one of their leaders, Hyouzou. The octopus Fishman is sitting on his ass against a large piece of coral, munching away on a plate of pills and drinking himself into a stupor.
"Hyouzou, help us, please!" shouts one of the Fishmen. "We need you in the fight!"
"Owner, can I get a serving of wasabi octopus?" Hyouzou slurs in response. Before any of the Fishmen can respond, a shadow falls over the small group. The bottle is suddenly lifted out of Hyouzou's hand, and all heads turn up quickly in response. Their red-headed enemy lounges in the coral, bottle now in one hand and sword in the other. "H-Huh? Where's my sake?" Several loud gulps sound as Run raises the bottle and tilts it back before lowering it with a loud sigh.
"Aaah! Whew~! That's some good stuff!" Run tells him with a grin. "Oh! Where are my manners?" The red head hands it back down to Hyouzou. "Thanks for the drink. I was getting thirsty!" The Fishmen surrounding them all raises their weapons, pointing them at the red head despite the fact that one of their leaders is between them and their intending target.
"Ohh! Don't mind it at all! Sake is best when it's enjoyed in company!" Hyouzou grasps a handful of the pills and tosses them into his mouth before raising the bottle and drinking deeply. His head tilts back and after several moments he eventually slumps over onto his side with a thud.
"Uh? Pal?" Attacking an unconscious man doesn't sit right with him at all. That thought vanishes entirely however when the man suddenly begins writing in pain much to the dismay of the Fishmen surrounding them. Run watches as Hyouzou squirms violently, his body slowly expanding with loud popping and crackling, his hair turning white as snow. It's all rather disturbing to watch, honestly. When Hyouzou finally quiets several long moments pass before his eyes snap open and he stands with his back to the red head. "You, uh...you feelin' alright?" There's a brief flash and Run disappears in an instant. The red head reappears several meters away as the coral and the Fishmen surrounding them are cut to pieces and scattered to the wind. "Whoa-ho! What's in those little pills of yours?"
Rather than pursue as Run had anticipated, he instead proceeds to rush forward, cutting down his own allies without cause or concern. He's unsure whether or not he should intervene in what is happening, considering that he isn't exactly attacking any of the crew...at least until he begins cutting his path of destruction towards Robin.
"Oh, shit!" Hyouzou spots her through the crowd instantly, partly do to the fact that she has sprouted several gigantic arms from the ground to pummel the surrounding Fishmen Pirates. Hyouzou hones in on her, swords raised to deal what he believes to be a killing blow before he's suddenly intercepted. A loud crash echos across the battlefield as Hyouzou comes to a stop several feet from Robin. "Dahahaha~! Safe!"
"Run!" breaths Robin, staring at the red hair's back. He flashes her a grin over his shoulder before looking back at Hyouzou.
"I guess I'll be taking care of this guy!" Run grins at the Fishman before suddenly sweeping his legs out from under him with Ace's scabbard. Hyouzou whole world spins as his body tumbles in air and Run brings his cutlass down. The loud crashing of steel against steel sounds seconds before Hyouzou is driven straight into the ground, and bounces across the ground for several meters before eventually catching himself. He laughs as he launches himself forward at the red head immediately. He gathers several blades from the ground, holding them in his tentacles and lashing out. He whirls left and right while Run blocks his attacks with ease.
"This is so great!" exclaims Hyouzou. "This is how a swordsman should be! You're strong!"
"Dahahaha~! If you praise me that much I might just start blushing, Hyouzou!" Run sweeps forward and drives Ace's scabbard into Hyouzou's gut. The Fishman grunts loudly as he's tossed back, bowling over several of his own comrades before coming to a stop in a pile of limbs and bodies. The blaring of a siren begins to echo across the island, followed by the crackling of a loud speaker coming to life. It alerts the whole island that the ship Noah is falling back to the island, and an emergency evacuation has been ordered. "Crap. That's not good." The Fishmen that Hyouzou has been buried under are suddenly tossed aside in a whirl-wind of steel and blood as he launches himself back at the red head.
"I'm the best swordsman on Fishman Island! I'm gonna cut you up into little pieces!" He swings his swords at the red head who steps forward and meets the weapons with a blow of his own, sending Hyouzou reeling in response. "Damn you, red hair!" Over Hyouzou's roaring, a conversation between Luffy, Shirahoshi and someone else begins to echo through the loud-speaker. It seems that he's got some plan to stop Noah from falling on the Island, but as to what exactly that it they'll have to sit and wait to find out. But that's not all. They listen as one of the Princes tells their Captain exactly 'who' Hordy is.
According to the Prince Hordy is nothing but a man who wants to destroy. He wasn't abused or attacked by Humans, he has no means to justify the way he is or his hatred. He's nothing more than a monster, a produce of an ancient grudge between Fishmen and Humans dating back centuries. Hordy will bring nothing but destruction to himself, Fishmen, Humans and everyone else.
"I'm gonna slice you to pieces! Red Hair!" Hyouzou lunges forward towards Run, swords raised. There's a brief flash of light...and the swords in his hands are cut to pieces, dropping off at the hilt with ease. Run stands with his cutlass resting on his shoulder. "O-Oi...I've lost my swords...how can I fight now? I can't fight with my bare hands! What should I do?" The red head slowly walks away from him, tapping the blade on his shoulder. The red head comes to an abrupt halt, energy crackling across the blade of his cutlass.
"Don't."
"Take these swords coated with my venom!" Run glances over his shoulder at Hyouzou who is rapidly closing in. "I'm the best octopus eight-sword style swordsman on Fish Man Island! My name is Hyouzou! Make sure you don't forget it in the after life!" The red head raises the blade of his sword slightly, and his whole figure seems to shift, turning and bringing it down almost in a delicate manner.
"Sundering Tide." Energy crackles fiercely across the blade as Hyouzou's world seems to split in two, and a deafening 'boom!' shakes the plaza. A deep gouge splits the earth, scattering Fishmen and rubble in all directions before finally settling. "I warned you." Looking around, Run realizes that the rest of the crew has taken out all of Hordy's officers as well. They gather up now, still surrounded on all sides by the New Fishman Pirates but they seem ready to scatter now after the loss of their commanders.
"Oi! Heads up!" calls Sanji, suddenly dropping out of the sky. He lands right in front of them seconds before Wadatsumi comes crashing down as well, smashing and scattering several of the pirates around them.
"You should have dropped him somewhere else, worthless chef!" complains Zoro.
"Oh, shut up! Next time I'll make someone fall on YOU!" Naturally, this spawns an immediate argument between the two of them while Brook earns himself a smack from Nami for asking her to start wearing a mini-skirt again. Franky, who has disembarked his giant robot, suddenly jumps back into it and reaches out to pat an enlarged Chopper on the shoulder.
"Would you mind shrinking down a bit, Chopper?" asks Franky. "You're upstanding the giant robot!" While Chopper and Usopp seem to be extremely taken with his invention Robin seems to be on the exact opposite end of the spectrum.
"That robot was completely useless," Robin tells him.
"Dahahaha~! Right for the throat!" laughs Run, capturing one of Robin's hands and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. Over the loud-speaker, the call that Luffy has beaten Hordy once and for all echos across the whole Island much to the joy of it's citizens who immediately break out into cheers. Unfortunately, it seems to be short lived as the shadow of the Noah falls over the island. It seems that despite the defeat of Hordy, the ship is still going to crash into the island. But just as soon as the panic begins to set in, the loud-speaker crackles to life again, announcing that 'Straw Hat' is attempting to destroy the ship entirely.
Parts of the ship begin to crack and shatter even as it draws closer and closer to the island. The cries of the citizens of the island echo loudly in their ears as the Noah begins to draw near and more and more begins to break free from it. Then, suddenly, the Noah comes to an abrupt halt and the whole island falls silent.
"P...People of the Island," calls the loud speaker. "What...What happened here is beyond words but it definitely happened! The Noah is stopped! It's not completely destroyed and Fishman Island is saved!" Loud cheering once again echos over the island as the Noah is pulled away from it, and disappears back into the sea. Following that, the announcement that the crew had nothing to do with the kidnapping of several Mermaids echos out as well. Chopper shrinks down out of his Monster Point and begins staggering around. He bumps into Run's leg and nearly falls before he reaches down to stabilize him.
"Whoa! You alright, doc?" Run asks, holding Chopper upright. "You look like you've been through the wringer." Robin gently sits down, folding her legs under her and takes their doctor out of his hands. She lies him down with his head on her lap.
"I-I'm fine," Chopper assures them. "After I use Monster Point I get so fatigued that I can't even walk for a few hours. But I can still treat everyone. Is there anyone who's hurt?" It isn't long after that before the Princes return carrying both Hordy and Vander Decken, both of whom are immediately slapped in chains. While the crowd is celebrating the capture of the criminals, loud cries reach the ears of everyone present.
"Help!" shouts Shirahoshi. "I can't stop his bleeding!" Flying through the air as fast as she can is Shirahoshi, cradling someone in her hands. She flies down to the crew and gently sets their Captain down in front of them. He's bleeding heavily from his shoulder, so much so that it's soaked his shirt and the left side of his pants. The crew quickly gathers around and moves Chopper over to treat him.
"I can stop the bleeding but he needs blood! He's lost too much of it!"
"He's the only one who's type 'F' among us," Run says quickly. "Hey! We need a blood transfusion! Is there anyone here who's type 'F'?! Anyone?!" The red head's voice echos through the plaza loudly but after several long moments there's no response. "Aah, fer-- give us a fuckin' break here!"
"I almost forgot that donating blood to Humans is prohibited here!" Despite all of that Shirahoshi offers to donate blood but because she isn't the same type, it can't be done.
"Those Pirates! The Humans! What about them?"
"Oh, yeah!" agrees Usopp. "One of you has to be type 'F'! We need blood! If we don't...Luffy is gonna die!" Their cries for help seem to fall on deaf ears, at least until Jinbei steps out of the crowd of people surrounding them and volunteers his blood. They quickly hook him up, and proceed with the transfusion. Several minutes pass in silence before Luffy's face suddenly curves into a smile and he begins laughing.
"I didn't know you were already awake," Jinbei mutters.
"Oi, Jinbei...join my crew...!"
- - -
"Aaah...what an ordeal," mutters Run, sipping at a cup of coffee. "Hmm...Robin~? Would you rub my shoulders please~?" Robin giggles softly in response as she steps behind him. He feels her hands land on his shoulders as she steps closer, standing on her toes to rest her chin on his shoulders.
"Mm, and what's wrong with your shoulders?" Robin murmurs into his ear.
"Please, they hurt. I must have growing pains." Again she giggles and presses a kiss to his neck just below his ear. Goose bumps immediately raise across his skin as she begins to gently knead the muscles of his shoulders. "Aah, thank you, Robin."
"I think you're past growing pains but I guess I'll humor you." They'd loaded their Captain up immediately after his declaration and made a quick escape from the eyes of the citizens...but they can't seem to shake Shirahoshi. The Princess hovers around the floating ship, looking into the windows one at a time before finally turning her attention to the crew gathered around the deck.
"Everyone, why did you have to leave the plaza like you were running away?" Shirahoshi questions them.
"Don't you get it?" Zoro retorts. "We had to deal with those pirates while everyone was watching. If we stayed there, they'd all start treating us like we were heroes instead of pirates. Honestly, the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach."
"Is being a hero something that's bad?"
"Look, woman, a hero is someone who will share his own sake with other people. In my case, I want to drink it all!" Nami shouts at him over his definition of a hero while Run's laughter echos from the opposite side of the Sunny in response.
"C'mon, Jinbei!" whines Luffy. "Join us already! Come out to the sea with us on an adventure! It's gonna be fun!" Luffy, Brook, Chopper and Usopp have been, unsuccessfully, attempting to persuade Jinbei to join the crew since they'd made their escape. But it seems that he's dead set on refusing.
"I already told you, I can't join you right now!" Jinbei tells them, again. "I'm grateful that you asked...and I know it would be fun to sail with you all. But I have some things I need to do first. I have my current responsibilities that I'm just taking a break from right now. When I've finally fulfilled my duties, and I am free of them, then I will come to see you all again. If you haven't changed your mind by that time, may I take you up on the offer then?"
"You swear?"
"Oi, Luffy," calls Sanji. "When a man speaks of his duty, you can't press him."
"Luffy thinks highly of you, Jinbei," Franky tells him. "So, we're all gonna wait for you!"
"So, what's the plan now?" Zoro asks. "Are we gonna head for the New World?"
"What? You're going to leave the island?" Shirahoshi questions them with tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. "I couldn't thank you properly and didn't get to talk to you!"
"Alright!" shouts Sanji. "Let's stay at the Mermaid Cafe for another week or two, then!"
"Wait!" screams a voice from the distance, drawing their attention to a rapidly approaching soldier from Neptune's army. "Please wait, Straw Hats!" The soldier approaches from the Sunny's starboard side, and produces a transponder snail quickly. "King Neptune, I caught up with them!"
"Aaah, Luffy!" calls Neptune's familiar voice. "Why did you all leave? I wanted to thank you--"
"I don't want to be a hero!" Luffy barks in response.
"I know! Let's just have a banquet! The one we could not have before-jamon!"
"Ohhh! A banquet?! Then, I'll be right there! Ohhh! A banquet...!"
- - -
They arrived back at the palace in record time, even after breaking off to pick up Keimi and Hatchin. Upon arriving, they're quickly ushered from the ship and onto the backs of several large flounder who have their backs covered in bubbles. The fish swim into the palace quickly, taking them through a dark tunnel and into an even darker room. While all of them are wondering exactly what is going on, a raucous cry rise from below as light begins to flood the room. It seems that all of Neptune's Army has been gathered, and all cry out their thanks to the Straw Hat's for saving Fishman Island, calling them Heros.
"Shut-up!" barks Luffy. "We're not heros! I wanna eat meat!" Zoro, who has been sleeping peacefully since setting foot on back of the flounder, suddenly bolts upright.
"He's right!" agrees Zoro. "I just wanna drink sake!"
"Dahahahaha~! Relax, relax!" Run laughs looking down at the soldiers. "Just let 'em have their moment. Doesn't seem like they'll listen anyway." Shirahoshi, who has been swimming around them the whole time, suddenly surges forward and holds her hand out.
"Luffy, there's a stage right in front of you!" Shirahoshi tells him. A voice echos through the room, even over the cheers of the soldiers. The announcer welcomes the Straw Hat's and introduces the greatest singer on the Island, Maria Napole. Her voice is beautiful, and it's accompanied by a jazz band. But the cherry on top of this show at least as far as Sanji is concerned is her back up, the Mermaid Cafe Dancers. It takes Luffy, Chopper and Jinbei to keep Sanji from jumping through the bubble surrounding them and into the sea to be with the Mermaids. As the song and music goes on, several of the Mermaids begin approaching with bottles of sake.
"Here it is!" laughs Zoro. "There's no such thing as a banquet without it!" Just as all the drinks are finally poured, the music and singing briefly comes to a stop, with the announcer asking for Neptune to offer a toast.
"Before I give a toast," begins Neptune. "I want to express my deepest gratitude-jamon. All of you Straw Hats--" Before he can even finish his sentence, Luffy springs skyward, drink held high.
"Cheers!" The toast echos through the crowd gathered regardless of Neptunes intentions. The food is quickly served to all present with Luffy enjoying all the meat he can and Chopper all the kinds of sweets available on Fishman Island.
"The sake here is so good!" sighs Zoro. "I had it already once before!"
"Dahahahaha~! Yeah, I heard it was good enough to trap you with," laughs Run, immediately drawing Zoro's ire. "Ohh! Scary~! That's a look you shoot your enemy, Zoro."
"O-Oi! Let's all relax and forget about it, huh?" Hatchin calls quickly, doing his best to calm the two men down. The drinking and feasting continues on for several hours until the crew begins to slip off one by one from the festivities. Having stacked up quite a pile of empty bottles, Run picks up a jug nearly as large as he is tall and heads out in search of the crew. He staggers through the palace, stopping occasionally to raise the massive jug and drink deeply before he eventually meeting with almost the whole crew near the exit. Usopp seems to have stuffed himself nearly to the point of exploding, Zoro is sprawled out spread eagle snoring, Sanji is mumbling something about mermaids while Chopper tends him and Nami sits quietly facing out into the sea.
"Dahahaha~! Why's everyone out here?" Run asks with a grin. "C'mon, c'mon! There's still a party goin' on so let's drink some more!"
"Sorry," Nami begins. "But I think I had a bit too much already, so I'm trying to sober up."
"Aah, yer no fun! Where's everyone else gone ta?" Run lifts the jug he's slung over a shoulder and begins to drink deeply from it.
"They're probably getting some fresh air and-- would you listen when I'm talking?!" He pauses and lowers the jug with a grin.
"Relax, relax! I heard ya! Aah, I guess I'll go look fer 'em." With that he wanders off into Ryugu Palace, once more stopping occasionally to take a drink from the jug of sake he's been toting around...at least until he finds himself standing in the middle of a four way hall, and facing a door he's almost certain shouldn't be open. "Hmm...if I remember correctly, that's the way to Shirahoshi's room. Hmm..." His brow furrows and a grin appears on his face as he walks in the direction of the door. "...I smell a rat~." Following the hall through the palace he makes his way slowly to the Hard Shell Tower, and after a brief pause in front of the heavy doors he shoves them open. "Hello, hello~! I'm comin' in~!" Run strides inside the room, and comes to an abrupt halt when he finds Shirahoshi surrounded on all sides by some strange goop, and the man from the Sunny looming over her. "Hoh? So ya did eat a Logia. Oi~!"
"Huh?" grunts the man, looking in his direction briefly. "What do you want, red hair? I'm having fun here, so why don't you just get lost for now?" The man turns back and after several long moments finally seems to realize his mistake before looking back in his direction once more. "R-Red hair?! What are you--" Run appears before him in an instant, driving his fist into the man's face and sending him rocketing out of Shirahoshi's room with a grin on his face.
"Dahahahaha~! Buh-bye, pal! Don't land in the sea! Dahahaha--" Shirahoshi's hands suddenly wrap around him, and tears stream down her cheeks as she holds tight.
"It was so scary!" cries Shirahoshi. "Thank you, red hair!"
"Shh, shh, yer alright." He gently pats her on the head with a grin. "No more cryin', huh?" Hearing sprinting footsteps he looks towards the entrance to find Luffy, Sanji and Zoro standing there staring at him. "Aah, it's 'bout time, fellas. I found a little rat in Shirahoshi's room an' sent 'im on his way. He looked like the guy we caught on the Sunny before." After she calms down they call the guard to report the incident to the palace.
"I can't believe the treasure thief was still in the palace!" shouts the Minster of the Right. "We normally wouldn't even let a tiny fish into the palace but the gate was left open in the confusion from the battles."
"Wait!" shouts Nami, appearing out of nowhere. "Did you say 'treasure thief'?"
"Yes, he stole all the treasure in the palace."
"Aren't they national treasures? Are you going to go after him?"
"No," Neptune tells her. "The treasure pales in compairson to the lives of my people."
"What if we get them back?"
"Then you're welcome to them! Nothing would please me more than to see those treasures in the hands of the people who saved my country-jamon!" Nami immediately glares in the direction of the red head, who glances over either shoulder quickly before pointing at himself.
"Yes, YOU, you drunken fool! How could you kick him out of the palace like that?! It should have been easy enough for you to knock him out and tie him up!" In the blink of an eye she appears in front of Luffy, Run, Sanji and Zoro and immediately kicks the four of them out of the palace with a surprising show of strength. "Make up for your mistake and find him! Don't come back without that treasure...!"